That would usually be a troublesome trend, but not in the case of Calgary Flames’ first-round selection Juuso Valimaki.

“We have our development camp in the summer over at WinSport, and (the players) stay at a hotel near there and there is a van or a bus that takes them back and forth,” said Flames general manager Brad Treliving. “So for the first couple of days of development camp, it’s always, ‘Ok, is everybody here?’ They do the roll-call, and Juuso was never there. He would never be on the bus because he would go to the rink early to work out, and then he would stay at the rink — when everybody else was coming back to the hotel — to work out.

“So say there were 40 kids at the camp. Well … there were only 39 on the bus. Juuso was never there, because he was either there early or staying late.”

Fine by the Flames higher-ups, who announced Valimaki’s name on their first trip to the podium — at No. 16 overall — at the 2017 NHL Draft.

“Oh yeah, that’s a good reason not to be on the bus,” Treliving said.

Treliving talks often about guys who “drive the bus,” and the Flames are optimistic that Valimaki has a bright future as one of those impact sorts at the Saddledome.

For the next two-plus weeks, the 19-year-old defenceman will be at the wheel for Team Finland, serving as captain for his national squad at the world junior championship in Buffalo.

The Finns open against Team Canada on Boxing Day (1:30 p.m., TSN/Sportsnet 960 The Fan). It should be an especially proud afternoon for Calgary’s hockey-operations and scouting staff, with future Flames in top leadership roles on both sides — Valimaki for Finland and left-winger Dillon Dube serving as Captain Canada.

“Just leadership and bring his presence on the ice — that’s what we want,” said Finland’s head coach, Jussi Ahokas, of Valimaki. “He doesn’t have to be any Superman or anything, but just be himself and I think that will be enough.

“As a person, he’s a really good guy. He works hard on the ice and off the ice. He’s a good teammate. And of course the way he plays, he always shows the best of what he can do.”

These aren’t uncharted waters for the blond blueliner, raised in the town of Nokia and now toiling for the Western Hockey League’s Tri-City Americans.

Valimaki had the ‘C’ stitched on his sweater when he made his international debut at the under-16 level and then captained Finland to gold at the 2016 IIHF World U-18 Championship.

This must have been a no-brainer because Ahokas announced way back in August that the Flames’ prized prospect would lead the letter-wearing crew at the holiday showdown in Buffalo.

“It’s a huge honour, and it means so much to me. Especially in that big, big tournament, it’s something special,” Valimaki said. “I just want to do everything I can, on and off the ice, so that hopefully we play good and we compete for the championship and we’ll end the journey with the gold medals.”

There is no guarantee that world-junior difference-makers will eventually become stars at hockey’s highest level, but it’s certainly not a bad starting point.

In the lead-up to the 2017 NHL Draft, Flames scouts were struck by Valimaki’s sky-high compete level, by his size, his offensive skill-set and his smarts in both ends.

Their reconnaissance on the 6-foot-2, 211-lb. defender — it’s not uncommon to quiz past coaches, teammates and support staff and even billets and school-teachers — only increased their interest.

Valimaki’s work ethic and leadership traits were constants in those conversations.

“There are some guys that it’s just a certain way they’re wired, and that’s how he is,” Treliving said. “When you think of leadership, some people think, ‘Oh, it’s the loudest guy that is screaming and yelling all the time.’ Juuso encourages others, but it’s the way he looks after himself, the work that he puts in, the training that he does … It’s really leading by example.

“That’s one of the things, even talking to a lot of people around the Finnish national team, they saw at a younger age. He was always coming for extra, there early, staying late … and he has a deep desire to learn. You hear the comment of ‘being coachable.’ This is a guy who is asking and always looking for feedback and ways that he can get better. The time he puts into areas that he needs to work on in his game, it’s as good as I’ve seen with any young player. Areas that you talk to him about, areas that he’s got to improve upon, he’ll spend a lot of time trying to perfect his craft, and I think that’s really the strongest part of leadership.

“It’s sort of part of his DNA — he’s a very committed young guy and a very well-respected teammate, and he expects others that play with him to have the same mindset.”

The Finns won world-junior gold in both ’14 and ’16 but barely dodged demotion a year ago, failing to advance to the quarterfinal round before defeating Latvia in a best-of-three relegation series.

Valimaki is one of nine returnees from that squad.

“From the past experience, I’ve been captain with a lot of the guys that will be there again, and there is so much leadership, other than the guys wearing the letters, that it’s pretty easy to lead that group,” Valimaki said. “I think I’m more a leading-by-example guy, just doing everything as I good as I can all the time. I think I’m positive and kind of happy guy there, just trying to keep the negative stuff out of the room and just getting along with everyone.

“That’s my mindset — that if everybody is happy in the room, it will show on the ice.”

And, hopefully, result in a shiny keepsake.

Gold, preferably.

“That’s the goal we all want,” nodded Valimaki, pointing out nearly half of this band of buddies have been skating together in international action since their U-16 days. “I would say that the whole group, including coaches and everyone, I think we kind of deserve of it after this great journey. I think always one of our biggest strengths has been the team spirit and how the group of guys are in the room.

“We’ve got a lot of special momentum out of that, so I think it will be the way all of us want to end it. That’s what we’re going for.”

BEYOND VALIMAKI

Flames general manager Brad Treliving provides a scouting report on the team’s other prospects who will represent their countries at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo …

C/LW Dillon Dube, Team Canada

Drafted by Flames in second round, No. 56 overall, in 2016 NHL Draft

Current team: Kelowna Rockets, Western Hockey League

“Dillon made the team last year as a checker and played a checking role. From what I read and hear and talking to guys, he’s going to be relied on as a two-way player but more of an offensive role this year. The scouting report on him is going to be speed, speed, speed and tenacity … He has the ability to put a lot of pressure on defence. I think, in today’s day and age, when you talk about intimidation, well, it’s intimidating to play against high-end speed as a defenceman because of the way the rules are. You can’t grasp and hook and hold and do all those things. So when Dillon is coming at you, he has the ability to beat you wide, he has the ability to chip it behind you, he has the ability on the forecheck to get on you quick and limit you in terms of advancing the puck. And he’s got skill-level. What sometimes gets underrated is he kind of came on the national scene last year as this pesky checker, but he’s been a top offensive player his whole career, and he is this year in Kelowna again. There are not many defencemen in the Western Hockey League that can handle him one-on-one with his speed, so I’m really interested to see how that translates offensively, but I think he’s going to play a big role. I think they’re going to look to him for production.”

D Adam Fox, Team USA

Drafted by Flames in third round, No. 66 overall, in 2016 NHL Draft

Current team: Harvard Crimson, NCAA

“Where he played maybe a secondary role last year, I think he’s going to have a leading role this year. I think the Americans might have the most offensively talented team in the tournament … And I think Adam is right up there with the top guys. He’s obviously going to run their power play, but what they’ve got is a real good group of forwards that are dangerous, and he’s going to be a guy that’s getting them the puck. They have firepower on that team, and I think he’s going to be looked upon as a guy to go back, get it, get it in their hands and be part of the attack. And he’s deadly on the power play, so I think he’s going to cause headaches for a lot of other teams. He had a good tournament last year, and I think he’s going to be a lead dog for them this year and a catalyst for them offensively. And his ability to defend is underrated. He can defend. His hockey IQ, his ability to think the game, I think, is going to be as good as anybody in this tournament. He’s an elite thinker, and he’s already got one tournament under his belt. I think if the U.S. has success, I think Adam is going to play a massive role in that.”

C Linus Lindstrom, Team Sweden

Drafted by Flames in fourth round, No. 96 overall, in 2016 NHL Draft.

Current team: Skelleftea AIK, Swedish Hockey League

“I think you’ll see him more in a defensive role. Even in the summer at Lake Placid, you could see that the coaches had lots of trust in him. He takes big faceoffs. He was a key part of their penalty-kill. He plays fast. He’s a real tenacious kid, and he’s got good skill. He reminds me of a lot those Swedish guys that just work their tails off and are really strong fundamentally. He thinks it well. He’s in the right spots. He’s an excellent defensive player. You could see him getting matchup roles, playing against other teams’ top lines and in key defensive situations.”

RW Eetu Tuulola, Team Finland

Drafted by Flames in sixth round, No. 156 overall, in 2016 NHL Draft

Current team: HPK, Finnish Hockey League

“They don’t have a ton of size up front and with the tournament being played in North America and on a North American sheet, he brings some size. I think that if he’s going the way he can go, he can really add to that team. He has a big shot. He can get in on the forecheck. He’s a big body.”

C Adam Ruzicka, Team Slovakia

Drafted by Flames in fourth round, No. 109 overall, in 2017 NHL Draft

Current team: Sarnia Sting, Ontario Hockey League

“He played a prominent role with them last year as a young kid in that tournament, and I see him taking even a further step. He’s going to have to provide offence. There is no question, you look at some of the big dogs in the tournament, (Slovakia) is not one of them. They’ve got their work cut out for them, but we’d like to see him really rise up and take a leadership role with that team. He’s going to get all the prime ice-time and top opportunities. Now, he has to take advantage of it and be a leader on the team and have that team go and surprise some people. That’s the challenge for him — go in and be a force at that tournament.”

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.